Management Planning

Successful management involves a great deal of planning. The planning process will be further evaluated and explained to provide an understanding of a manager’s position, duties, and thought processes. Research on the large corporation, Halliburton, will be used to analyze the influence that legal issues, ethics, and corporate social responsibility have had on the management planning of the company. Three factors will be indentified that influence Halliburton’s strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency planning.

Planning is defined as the conscious, systematic process of making decisions about goals and activities that an individual, group, work unit, or organization will pursue in the future (Bateman & Snell, 2009). It is an intentional endeavor that is overseen by managers to give employees an understanding of what is to come. When something is planned, one chooses what is going to be done and how to do it. There are certain steps that are followed when going through this planning process: situational analysis, alternative goals and plans, goal and plan evaluation, goal and plan selection, implementation, and monitor and control.

The first step, situational analysis, involves collecting every piece of information that is pertinent to the planning topic. Proper analysis takes a look at prior events and present circumstances in order to predict potential trends. This detailed step will detect any concerns or troubles because one is looking ahead to see what might cause problems in the plan.

The second step in the planning process is known as alternative goals and plans. In this step, other ways to achieve the set goals are thought of by employees and managers. This is a time for everyone to be creative and think of different ways to reach the goals and the plan. Third, goal and plan evaluation is a necessary step to take. Here managers will assess the benefits, any drawbacks, and possible consequences of all alternative goals and plans. The...